A new reading of Sherman’s march shows how enslaved people sought to free themselves

‘The version of the march popularized in Gone With the Wind doesn’t tell the full, or even a partially accurate, story.’ Photograph: Print Collector/The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The story of Sherman’s march to the sea is often remembered for its destruction of the south.

Led by the Union general William Tecumseh Sherman through Georgia from 15 November until 21 December 1864, the march began with Union forces taking Atlanta, and ended when they took the port of Savannah.